Green Chili Mac ‘n Cheese with Andouille Sausage

By Eliot, on December 20th, 2016

Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon….

Ever hear of that?

You may have heard about Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon before. In fact, you probably learned about it for the first time very recently. If not, then you just might hear about it again very soon. Baader-Meinhof is the phenomenon where one happens upon some obscure piece of information—often an unfamiliar word or name—and soon afterwards encounters the same subject again, often repeatedly. Anytime the phrase “That’s so weird, I just heard about that the other day” would be appropriate, the utterer is hip-deep in Baader-Meinhof.

We were in Dallas’ Deep Ellum district the weekend after Thanksgiving, and I saw signs for a Krampus event of some sort or another.

Then, I saw this on the news:

Then, this came across my Yelp event alerts:

I see Krampus everywhere now! Thanks, Heather…I just hope I don’t see him Christmas Eve…..

Here’s a brief synopsis of Krampus, that feel-good-traditional-Christmas-family movie. (I’m being facetious.)

The Engel family, parents Tom and Sarah and siblings Max and Beth, find themselves literally in the midst of a hectic and stressful Christmas season. They are eagerly awaiting (more facetiousness) the arrival of Linda (Sarah’s sister ), her husband Howard, the hellion-cousins (Howie Jr, Stevie, Jordan) and Baby Chrissy. Aunt Dorothy and Omi (grandmother) round out this family cast of characters.

These family dynamics are scary enough, but add an old German legend and things become really frightening. So, as I reviewed what to make from this Christmas horror movie, I came up with this list (mostly from the Christmas Eve dinner scene):

Gravlax

Mac and Cheese with Hotdogs

Crème brûlée

Aunt Dorothy’s Egg Nog

You know me, I almost landed on the egg nog or some sort of wicked cocktail concoction. Instead I decided to make some comfort food to help me deal with the subject matter of this film.

So if you like macaroni and cheese with hot dogs like the horrendous gun-toting braggart family (Howard, Linda, Aunt Dorothy, et al), you might like this recipe. I hasten to say that Sarah might like the elevated dish, too.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat and add in the diced onion.

Saute the onion in the butter for 2 minutes and then add in the flour. Whisk the flour into the butter and onion mixture and let it cook for about a minute. Be careful not to scorch.

Slowly whisk in the half and half and salt. Whisk until sauce is without any lumps of the flour-butter mixture. Continue whisking until the sauce has thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

Mix the two cheese together in a separate bowl. *Or, you can use two cups of a pre-packaged pre-shredded Mexican cheese blend.

Add in the diced green chiles and about half of the cheese combination. Stir until all of the cheese has melted. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Add the cooked and drained pasta and sausage to the cheese sauce and toss until combined.

Transfer the macaroni mixture to a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Top with the remainder of the cheese and place in oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and a bit browned (if desired).

Serve immediately.

This recipe makes a big pan of comfort food and would be perfect for a holiday buffet or for a simple meal on Christmas Eve (as you wait to see if Krampus will appear or not).

I have to say I found this story-line pretty disturbing from Max’s dysfunctional family, to his bullying camo-wearing cousins, to the ending. I was pretty depressed after I realized it had not been a dream and that there would be no Christmas miracle for Max. That being said, I would like to thank Heather (the FnF founder) for hosting this month. Krampus could be seen as a cautionary tale to not let the commercialism and stress of Christmas take over the true meaning of the season.

In 2013, the feature film could not have been any different than Krampus. It was Elfwith the cute and talented Will Ferrell. Last month, Elf: The Musical was playing in town and a local restaurant featured this menu. I just had to share this.

The best part of this meal was the Buddy Salad, the Yukon gold mashed potatoes (with roasted garlic) and that dessert!!!!!! Definitely trying to replicate that salad.

I didn’t realize that phenomenon had a name, but I’ve definitely experienced it – crazy! Isn’t it a cool (if horrid) legend? I loved reading your thoughts on it, and love the direction you took with your inspired dish. It sounds amazing, definitely pure comfort food, perfect for a Christmas gathering.

Wow, I loved reading your thoughts and enjoyed the links you shared of Krampus esp. the Telegraph. You link with Austria’s tradition also shws ona Czech tradition – I saw this recently played out in Wales, UK when I was invited to attend a Christmas get together at a communit centre hosted by people from the EU, the children did cry. I love the sound of your Green Mac and Cheese – spicy! I like I agree with your observation of the movie too, a cautionary tale indeed

you what this means, Krampus is coming for you for sure 😉 but just with a lump of coal hopefully and the real story goes. I love that you went with the takcy dish of the movie but made it so very tempting.

LOL LOVE this post, Deb and your discovery (discoveries:) However, it is the Green Chili Mac ‘n Cheese with Andouille Sausage that really has me in a quabble. How hot is comfrotable when it comes to Mac N Cheese??? I guess I should find out, lol…Thanks for sharing, Deb…

I don’t know if you have been to my blog recently but I just had to pop over to let you know I posted to my blog for the final time the other night. My health must take precedence and there are so many things I still need to catch up on. It has been wonderful getting to know you and your delicious blogs these past years. I will miss blogging and the kinships that have formed; virtually. Keep the spirit, Deb! I wish you much success and lots more Baader-Meinhof Phenomenons, lol…it adds to the spice of life I think:)

Great post.Deb! I love the idea of putting the hottest green chili in just about everything, but then again, I lived in the Southwest for many, many years and find the chilies that grow up here in the Pacific Northwest sad by comparison. I’m always at the grocery store in the late summer and early fall hoping that some fresh Hatch chilies come in, as we roast them up in big batches and freeze them for use throughout the winter. Did you see the Krampus walk? I have to say that the thought of a bunch of people dressed up like the critters in Krampus creeps me out a bit.